Academic Counseling Center for Excellence Offers Advising and Support to Social Sciences Students

ACCESS Director Hien Do speaks at the center’s grand opening (Kevin Johnson photo).

By Amanda Holst, Public Affairs Assistant

Just a week or so after classes started, Beatrice Cervantes, ’13 Forensic Science, was already hard at work inside the  Academic Counseling Center for Excellence in the Social Sciences (ACCESS).

“I come here every time I need to read, need a quiet place to study, or need to borrow a computer,” Cervantes said.

Social Sciences is one of several colleges, including Engineering and Applied Sciences and the Arts, that have opened centers to connect students to support services in a convenient and comfortable setting.

ACCESS Director Hien Do talked to SJSU Today about what students, faculty, and staff can expect from the center, located in Clark 240. The following was edited for length and clarity.

SJSU Today: What is the center’s mission?

Hien Do: Our mission is to assist students at any level who need help navigating SJSU.

SJSU: What services does the center offer?

Do: We provide Social Sciences students and others a place to talk to advisers regarding General Education courses and graduation requirements for majors. We help students on academic probation get back on track. We offer workshops on how to apply to graduate school and write essays. We have two breakout rooms for advisers to work with students. We also try to stay open during finals week as a quiet place to study.

SJSU Today: How are students responding to your center?

Do: We have new students coming to see us after learning about the center during orientation this past summer and we have returning students. Study-abroad students book our center for meetings. We also have an office supporting students who are veterans. Overall, it’s a warm and cozy place. It’s also inspiring because we have our professors’ manuscripts and books on the shelves.

SJSU Today: What do you see as the center’s main goal?

Do: The main goal that I have is ensure each College of Social Sciences student graduates from SJSU with no complaints.